What Ed's Done
by ThePopcornFairy
Summary: Something is running amok in the cul-de-sac, leaving a trail of destruction every night. As their home and wellbeing fall apart, Edd struggles for answers, Eddy faces strange occurrences, and Ed has a suspicion that he is to blame for all this.
1. Day 1: October 28

**What Ed's Done**

**Day 1: October 28**

Ed's eyes slowly creaked open, pain striking him as the midmorning sunshine burned his retinas. His body ached all over, to the point where even the slightest movement sent splinters of pain throughout his body. Thick saliva filled his mouth, and swallowing only helped to burn his throat and churn his stomach even more that it already had been.

It wasn't too often that the happy-go-lucky Ed woke up in a rotten mood. Sure, he had those rough mornings where he just wanted to pull the covers up and pretend the sun hadn't risen yet, but very rarely did he want the world to just go away and leave him alone until he felt better. This was the epitome of those mornings.

With a long moan, Ed tried to force himself up, but the pain and nausea tripled as he elevated his body, so he gave up and plopped back down. He bit his lip, focusing all his energy on not vomiting.

When his tongue ran across his lower lip, Ed noticed a revolting taste in his mouth. It reminded him of the tastes he got that one time when he was so thirsty that he drank from Rolf's garden hose and that other time when his tongue got stuck in his basement drain.

He steadily forced himself to reach up and touch his face, finding that something had dried and crusted around his mouth. He scratched a little off and took a peak at it, his eyes widening in shock when he found that both the flakes he had scraped off and the stuff covering his hand was dark red.

Ed's eyes trailed up; in his peripheral, Ed could see splatters of dark red all over the walls, primarily covering his B-movie posters and any other area close to his bed. He once again tried to sit up, the pain dialed down and otherwise ignored as Ed inspected himself. The same red substance had stained his tank top and boxers, and patches of it lined his arms and face.

He shook profusely, his breaths coming out short and choppy. Blood. It had to be blood. Ed had seen this plenty of times in horror movies. He knew what it meant.

When he took a better look at the room, he found that it had been totally destroyed, leaving it in an even greater mess than it usually was. Splotches of red painted a few spots here and there. His model rockets were scattered, some whole and some in millions of pieces. Possibly what was most shocking was that his closet door had been caved in and yanked off its hinges, and the small window had been broken, which explained that cold breeze Ed was noticing for the first time.

On shaky legs, Ed stood up and treaded to his bathroom. He turned the sink on, waiting a few seconds as the rarely-used contraption forced water through its rusted pipes, and started to rinse his hands off as he looked back on the events that led up to this point:

Last night, Ed and Eddy had travelled into the woods to plan their Halloween party; Edd had stayed home to work on his AP history report. When they finished, they took a wrong turn on the way home and wound up in the Peach Creek cemetery. Once they got through that, they returned to the cul-de-sac and called it a night. Ed went home, went down to his room, put his night clothes on and then… nothing. He couldn't remember anything else between changing his clothes and waking up in his blood-stained bed.

Splashing water on his face seemed to help Ed pull himself together a bit quicker, as if getting the red substance off of him washed away the agony he woke up with. Changing his clothes provided him with some much-needed comfort too, and soon all Ed was left with was a light headache and the sticky reminders on his wall.

Ed swallowed hard, wondering whose blood that was.

Leaving the mess behind, he headed upstairs to the kitchen and popped some bread in the toaster. Fortunately, nothing about the kitchen looked out of the ordinary. One thing was strange, though: Where was Sarah? According to the wall clock, it was already past ten o'clock. Sarah never slept in this late.

What if…?

Curious as ever and beyond concerned for his baby sister, Ed bolted for the stairs. In his run, the nausea returned, so he continued upstairs on a steadier pace. He stopped dead cold in front of his sister's door.

He lifted a shaky hand up and knocked. "Sarah?"

A long moan was the only response.

Ed knocked louder. "Sarah? Are you okay?"

"Ed…"

She sounded hurt. That was enough to make Ed yank the door open and dash inside.

"SARAH!"

Compared to Sarah's room, Ed's ruined basement might as well have been a five-star hotel. Sarah's bedroom had been all but totally annihilated. Even the incident where he and Eddy crashed through the roof didn't compare to this. The pink and red wallpaper had been almost completely torn off. The dresser and bookshelf were both broken to bits, their remnants scattered all over the room. The carpet and walls were splattered with even more blood, their stains so prominent that many were still dripping wet. The rug and curtains were in shreds, though the window remained unbroken. The bed legs had collapsed and the canopy's supports destroyed so that the material covered all but the top of Sarah's head.

"Baby sister!" Ed cried as he scrambled to get the canopy off. "Are you okay?! Who did this?!"

He gasped and forced back tears when he saw his sister. Her face was frozen in terror and every few seconds she convulsed. There were bruises all over her and her left arm had a gaping wound in it, which had caused a puddle of blood to form on her bed. She was pale from the blood loss except for a dull grey in her cheeks, probably a sign that she would throw up any minute now.

Ed gently held her, unable to hold the tears back anymore. "Sarah, please speak to me!"

Sarah didn't move or speak, but she eventually let out a little hiccup.

"It's okay, Sarah. Big brother will get help!"

He gently placed Sarah back on her bed and rushed downstairs by means of tripping and tumbling down the stairs. Back in the kitchen, Ed picked up the phone and went to dial the numbers.

_Darn it, what number do you dial for 911?! Nevermind, Sarah needs help NOW!_

He thought of calling his parents, but they wouldn't listen to him. They almost never did. Besides, they couldn't be bothered at work right now. So, instead, Ed put the phone back down and ran outside, sprinting across the cul-de-sac towards the residence of the first person he could think of:

"_DOUBLE DEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!_"

Ed crashed through the door of the last house on the street, catching a fully-dressed Edd off guard.

"Double D, Double D, Double D!"

"Ed, w-what is it?!" Edd insisted.

"It's Sarah! She-She's hurt!"

"What?!"

"Come on!" Ed ran back outside.

"Ed, wait!" Edd stumbled after him, having a hard time keeping up with his friend's long, strong legs. When he finally made it to Ed's house, Ed was already heading upstairs, and Edd was panting like he was on the home stretch of a marathon. "Ed…"

He walked the last couple steps to Sarah's room, gasping in horror at the sight of the mess it had become. Ed was crying over his petrified sister, and Edd slowly knelt down beside him. "W-When did you find her like this?"

"Just now…" Ed sobbed.

Edd inspected Sarah, checking her vitals, studying her arm wound and anything else he felt was important. "Oh dear… She needs medical attention. I'll call an am-"

"No! She needs help _now!_"

"Ed…!" Then Edd thought of something. "Wait, Mutt's father is off today. We'll take her over to their house."

"Okay…" Ed sniffled, effortlessly picking Sarah up.

Edd comforted his friend as they turned to leave the room, looking around and shuddering at the sight of the blood. "Who on Earth could've done this?"

Just then, Sarah jolted and gasped. A raspy noise escaped her throat.

"Sarah…?" Ed choked up.

Sarah seemed to be trying to say something, but the one noise she kept repeating was incoherent to the two Eds.

"What is it Sarah? Say something!"

"It's okay, Sarah," Edd said. "Dr. Kanker will take care of you. Everything will be alright."

Ed's stomach was churning again as he remembered the sight of his own room. He was covered in blood too, but he was otherwise unscathed. Even worse was that he couldn't remember anything. What if he was a part of this? What if… he was responsible for this?

* * *

While Henry Kanker took care of Sarah in his office, Ed and Mutt sat quietly in the living room while Edd paced and talked on the phone. He had already called Eddy and asked him to come over, but knowing that sleepyhead, it would take a while for him to show up. Now Edd was on the phone with the police, describing the scene he and Ed had discovered in Sarah's room.

"Yes, it had been utterly ruined and there was… _blood_ everywhere. …Hers was the only room destroyed and there didn't seem to be any signs of someone breaking in."

_My window was broken…_ Ed thought, though he didn't dare speak up.

In a rare moment, Ed was thinking hard about this. If his window was broken, maybe the culprit had broken in through _his_ room and hurt Sarah. But why was Ed covered in blood when he woke up? Did the culprit just splatter blood on him to _make_ him think it was his fault? Yeah, that could make sense.

But then why did Ed wake up feeling like he slept on a rollercoaster from Hell? His mind traced back to all those monster movies he had watched in his life, namely the ones where the main character turns into a monster at night, mauls his victims then wakes up in pain with no memory of the night before. A lot of that description fit what had gathered so far.

No. No, that couldn't be. Nothing in the world would bring Ed to hurt his beloved little sister. Right?

Just as Edd finished his phone call, the front door flung open and in stepped Eddy, who looked like he had just woken up with a hangover. "Alright… what's so important?"

"It's Sarah," Edd replied. "Someone broke into her room last night and brutally injured her."

Eddy blinked away the sleepys in his eyes. "Is that it?"

"Eddy, her room is a mess and covered in blood! She and Ed are terrified!" Edd protested, appalled by Eddy's apathy.

"What's with you today?" Mutt asked. "You're usually on top of things when there's a crisis. And, yeah, you've never been a morning person, but you can still wake up pretty quickly."

"I barely slept last night," Eddy grumbled. "Kept having weird dreams."

Before anyone could comment on that, a door closed upstairs and Dr. Kanker walked down into the living room. At the sight of him, Ed ran over to him, practically begging for good news. "Is she okay, Doc? Will she make it?"

"Sarah's just fine," Henry replied in a calm tone. "I've taken care of her more serious bruises and bandaged her arm. She's stopped bleeding, and her blood loss is minimal enough that her body should be able to resupply it. Her more serious condition seems to be acute stress reaction."

Ed raised half of his thick eyebrow.

"She's in shock, Ed," Mutt explained.

"Oh…" Ed backed off a few steps. "Can you fix that?"

"With any luck, she should be well again in two to three days," Henry said, sitting down next to Mutt and ordering the others to do the same. "Now Ed, I want you to tell me _everything_ that you can remember leading up to this. Anything you remember or think is important."

"Gee, _that's_ gonna be hard," Eddy mumbled as he plopped down in a chair.

True, that_ would_ be hard, but not because of Ed's usual ignorance, but because everything between his return home and his wakeup call was a blank. Aside from that, though, his biggest question was whether or not he should tell them about his own bloody encounter.

Perhaps it was best if only Edd, Eddy and maybe Mutt heard that part. Who knew what would happen to Ed if an adult heard about that?

"Well…" Ed began. "Last night, Eddy and I were doing Halloween-y type stuff in the woods, and when we were done we came home through the graveyard."

"Did you come across anything there?" Henry asked.

"No, not really. I _did_ see this cute kitty, though…"

"Oh, there you go again with the stupid cat," Eddy groaned. "Can we skip this part? _Please?_"

Ed wasn't in the mood for cute things, so he complied. "When we got home, I went right to bed and slept all night. After I woke up, I went up to check on Sarah and found her room all trashy and…" He trailed off and shuddered before he could mention the blood.

"So you don't remember hearing or seeing anything out of the ordinary up until then?" Henry questioned.

Ed just shook his head.

"I called the police while you were upstairs with her," Edd spoke up. "I told them everything we knew. They should be over shortly."

Henry sighed. "Thank you, boys. Ed, you should probably head home, call your parents and let them know. I'll keep Sarah here for now, so if they want to see here, feel free to come over."

"Okay." Ed stood up and walked over to the door. For some reason, he didn't have the heart to go up and check on Sarah yet, so he simply called over his shoulder, "Take good care of my sister."

"I will," Henry assured him as he walked back upstairs.

Alone with his friends again, Ed sharply whispered, "Follow me."

Edd and Mutt looked rather surprised by Ed's sudden edge, but they didn't protest, quietly standing up and following Ed out the door. Mutt had to drag a drowsy Eddy along, but other than his whiny moan, the four didn't make a sound.

Ed led the group back to his house and around back to the basement window. Edd gasped, Mutt froze and even Eddy seemed shocked to see the shattered window, and Ed stared at it with bewilderment as if he was seeing it for the first time too. "Just wait," he murmured, opening the window and maneuvering inside around the broken glass.

Once he was in, Mutt helped Edd get past the glass and Eddy -nearly wide awake by that point- swooped in on his own. A horrified silence fell at the sight of the mess that was Ed's room.

"_Geez,_ Lumpy!" Eddy exclaimed. "I know your room is a pig sty, but… holy crap!"

With an uneven heart, Ed tilted his head towards the stains on the walls, which Edd nervously observed. "More blood…?"

Ed nodded.

"Ed, a-are you okay?"

"Yes… but when I woke up, I was all achy and pukey."

Mutt joined Edd and took in the scents in the blood and in the air, his keen wolf nose able to catch things the Eds couldn't. "Oh yeah, someone was in here last night."

"And you don't remember anything that could've caused this?" Edd asked.

"Uh-uh." Ed shook his head. "I don't even remember going to sleep, guys."

"Well, that's nothing new," Eddy said, kicking at Ed's overturned armchair. "You probably don't even remember what you had for breakfast this morning."

"I _didn't_ have breakfast this morning."

"...Okay, you got me on that one." Eddy inhaled sharply through clenched teeth at the sight of Ed's closet door. "It's a wonder how you slept through all of this."

"Guys…?" Ed whimpered. "What if… _I_ hurt Sarah?"

"Say _WHAT?!_" Eddy and Mutt shouted in unison.

"What if it's like in the movies? What if I did something horrible last night and woke up without remembering any of it?"

"Oh, shut up, Ed!" Eddy cut in, though his tone was sympathetic rather than irritated. "We know you, and we know that you would _never_ hurt Sarah."

"Eddy's right, Ed," Edd added, pushing away the absurdity of that statement. "You would never do something like this under ordinary circumstances. I'm sure there's a highly logical reason for this attack."

Mutt elbowed Edd. "While 'logical' is the last word I would use to describe _anything_ that goes on in this town, I think you and I should do some tests on this blood."

"I think so too."

"After all… something about this blood smells… _weird._"

"Weird how?" Eddy asked skeptically.

"I don't know. It's just…" Mutt shook his head. "Let's just get some samples before the cops show up."

"Agreed." Edd smiled at a distraught Ed. "Don't worry, Ed. We'll figure this out."

When Ed didn't respond, Eddy wrapped an encouraging arm around him. "Lighten up, big guy. You're no more a monster than you always have been."

That lighthearted joke brought a little smile out on Ed's face. "Thanks, guys."

* * *

Hours passed.

The police arrived, Ed's parents came home from work and a thorough investigation of the house began. The last thing Ed wanted was for his room to become part of the search, but they went down there anyway. When they did, much to his shock, the broken window had been replaced and the blood stains were gone. He hid this shock and found it relieving that they didn't ask him anymore questions, but his friends denied any connection to the sudden repairs.

Meanwhile, Eddy was doing some last-minute yard work, raking leaves in the dusky sunset. He couldn't help but look up at Ed's house every once in a while. It was strange, but there seemed to be a haze surrounding it. It wasn't even a physical phenomenon; it seemed more like Eddy's vision screwed up every time he looked at the house.

He couldn't put his finger on it, but when they were down in Ed's room, Eddy had gotten a weird sense of déjà vu.

_Oh well._ Eddy finished up the leaves, put the rake away and went back inside, ready to put this weird day behind him.

Across the street, Edd was studying the blood samples he had taken from Ed and Sarah's rooms. Two of the three samples were exactly the same, the third one being Sarah's own, untainted blood from her bed. The other two, though… Edd couldn't understand what they were. Both seemed to be a mixture of different bloods; one part was Ed's B-positive blood and the other part… was nothing like he had ever seen before.

When he told this to Mutt, the latter left without another word, leaving Edd to ponder his discovery on his own. Part of him was starting to believe that Ed could've very well had some part in the event, but his heart always denied it.

And right next door, Mutt ascended the staircase and walked into his house's spare bedroom, where Sarah was being kept. She was still awake, and the state of her shock seemed to have changed. Her expression, while still wide-eyed and open-mouthed, had turned sad in a way. The astonishment had passed, replaced with heartbroken horror.

He knelt down next to her and gently placed his warm hand on her cold arm. "Sarah?"

Sarah's mouth closed slightly and her eyes creaked his way.

"What did you see?"

"E-E-E-E-E-"

"It's okay, Sarah…"

"Ed."

Mutt froze up. "Say again?"

"E… Ed."

He stared at Sarah, his hand slowly sliding off of her. Then Mutt stood back up and left the room.

* * *

Edd's garage door slid open effortlessly and Mutt appeared in the gap, the light from the activating streetlights outlining him. "Double D!"

He jumped up slightly from Mutt's sudden presence. "What is it?"

"I got Sarah to talk."

That brought Edd to his feet. "You did? What did she say?"

As Mutt closed the garage door, he explained, "I asked her what she saw, and all she said was 'Ed.'"

Edd blink in surprise. "Ed…?"

Mutt brought himself face-to-face with his sock-headed friend, his face sad and solemn. "I don't know what this entails, Double D, but I think it's safe to say that one way or another, Ed is involved in this mess. We both know that there's something weird about the blood we took, and we know that part of that blood mix is Ed's."

"And the other part is someone else's."

"Some_thing_ else's."

Edd's eyes widened. "…What?"

Mutt suddenly grabbed his wrist. "We need to go see Ed."

"Mutt, what exactly are you implying here?" Edd questioned as he was dragged out of the garage.

"I'll explain later. First I gotta know-"

He was cut off by a sudden gust of wind. Wind that seemed to blow in every direction at once, freezing the two boys where they stood. Mutt looked around, his face screwing up as a strange but familiar scent touched his nose.

"Mutt, please just tell me what you're thinking!" Edd begged.

"Double D, look!"

Edd followed Mutt's finger, which led to the roof of Ed's house. Under the light of the moon, Edd could just barely make out a shadowy figure. A gasp escaped his throat just as the figure leaped away. The wind came to an abrupt stop and the world became eerily silent.

"M-Mutt? Did you see what I saw?"

Mutt nodded slowly. "Get back inside. I'm going alone."

Edd saw no point in arguing, so he nodded and whispered, "Be careful."

As Edd ran back to his house, he looked over his shoulder and watched as Mutt sprinted away and yanked his shirt off, a clear sign that he would soon take on is Star Wolf form. Edd didn't know why he needed it, especially if that figure was what Edd thought it was, and he desperately hoped it wasn't.


	2. Day 2: October 29

**Day 2: October 29**

"_Uuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnggggghhh …_"

It was hard to believe, but Ed actually woke up feeling worse than he did yesterday morning. His whole body felt like a lead weight, daggers pierced any muscle that dared to move and there was a hurricane going on in his stomach. Not only that, but practically every inch of his skin stung like mad.

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, Ed came to the stunning realization that he was outside, lying shirtless in a patch of tall grass under a tree. It took about ten minutes for him to work up the energy to even sit up, and once he did, he immediately inspected himself.

A cry of horror burst out of him. Once again, Ed's hands, arms, chest, face and pants -the latter of which were still intact but torn to shreds- were stained with blood. Possibly even more so than last time. The fluid's metallic taste even saturated in his mouth.

This only convinced him further. The blood, the destruction, and now waking up in a barren field, all with no memory of how this happened. He was almost certain now…

Ed's train of thought was cut off when he realized that he had splinters dotted here and there along his arms. He grunted as he pulled a few out, tears welling up in his eyes for more reasons than one. This was totally different; Ed didn't even have a theory for why he had wood all over him.

A piercing scream reached his ears.

His eyes shot up towards the direction of the noise, which he recognized as Nazz's scream. On weak legs, Ed stood up and started to wobble towards the noise, eventually working up the strength to walk slowly with minimal amount of motion sickness. Once he cleared the foliage, he found himself back in the cul-de-sac, right behind Jonny's house.

_Jonny's house?_

Ed stopped in just the right place where he could see his friends but they couldn't see him. Everyone was gathering around in Jonny's front yard, staring up in shock at the hole in the attic wall. On cue, Kevin and Rolf rushed in, followed by a concerned Edd. Ed couldn't help but notice that Eddy and Mutt were absent from the group (and, of course, Sarah, for obvious reasons).

Inside the house, Kevin and Rolf worked their way into the attic while Edd stayed behind and observed the messy living room. The other two had stopped and stared at the blood, which only earned a foreign exclamation courtesy of Rolf before Kevin ordered them onward to check on Jonny, and when they got there, they found him curled up in a corner, shivering like he was in a snow storm.

Rolf gaped at the ruined attic. "Jonny-wood-boy, your domicile looks as though it had a disastrous encounter with a herd of enraged swine."

"What happened in here, Jonny?" Kevin asked.

Jonny only stammered and pointed a shaky finger towards something on the other side of the room. Rolf headed that way and grabbed what Jonny was obviously worked up over: Plank, his crayon face smeared and wooden body broken down the center with splinters scattering every which way.

"The hunk of wood has walked the fine line of all realms," Rolf gasped.

"Just please tell me he's okay!" Jonny cried.

"I'm sure Plank will make it," Kevin insisted, trying to sound as sympathetic as possible for the wooden board. "Now what about you?"

At that moment, Edd poked his head in the attic. "Oh dear… Jonny!"

He ran over to Jonny and looked him over. Other than a few scratches, bruises and the horrified twitch, Jonny looked okay. "It's going to be alright, Jonny. We'll take care of this."

"Ed… Ed…!" Jonny cried.

"Yes, Jonny, I'm here."

"No! _Ed!_"

"I think he means the big guy," Kevin said.

Edd worriedly held his chin. "Ed?"

Cries from outside drew the boys in the attic over to the hole in the wall. "The Ed Boy approaches!" Rolf shouted.

Indeed, Ed had made his presence known, shakily stepping out into the open and revealing his bloody self to the others. Jimmy hid behind Nazz, who held him in panic. Kevin let out a quiet "Dude…" and Rolf grabbed his head, stunned silent.

Jonny yelped and scrambled behind Edd. "Ed! Y-You…! You…!"

Ed looked up at the four, tears in his eyes and a quiver in his lip. It only worsened when he saw Plank mutilated in Rolf's hands.

"Jonny… I… I'm sorry." Then, unable to bear it anymore, Ed turned and sprinted towards his house.

"Ed, wait!" Edd turned to Jonny. "I'm sorry, but I have to take care of this." He gave Jonny one last reassuring pat and quickly made his way out of the house. "Ed!"

* * *

Eddy stared at the ceiling, wishing he could sleep just a little while longer. These stupid dreams would be the death of him yet, he just knew it. Why did he keep having them anyway? Most of them were just images of colonial Peach Creek, of his ancestors who founded the town. The rest of them… he didn't have the slightest clue what the heck they meant. He just wished they would go away so he could get some sleep!

When it didn't come, Eddy rolled out of bed and treaded over to his dresser, pulling out his clothes for the day and changing into them little by little. Then a knock on his window got his attention. He walked back over, yawning and scratching himself along the way, and lifted the blinds to find Mutt outside his window… shirtless, of course.

"What do you want?" Eddy mumbled.

"Double D's heading over to Ed's house," Mutt explained. "We're gonna meet them there."

"Why?"

"Because I have evidence, and I think I know what it means."

_Whatever that means…_ "One minute," Eddy sighed and closed his blinds. Once he finished getting dressed, he slid his door open and walked outside. "Alright. Let's go, I guess."

"I take it you just got up," Mutt said.

"I've _been_ up like every other hour!"

"Still having weird dreams?"

"…To say the least." Eddy looked Mutt over as they walked across the backyards to Ed's house. "What is it with you and the shirt? …Or the lack thereof? Are you _really_ trying to be the cul-de-sac's Jacob Black?"

"_No,_" Mutt groaned. "It's just more convenient at times, only having to change back into my pants."

"Hm…"

Eddy turned his attention away from Mutt's half-nakedness, and when he did, he finally noticed the carnage that was Jonny's house and the crowd it was attracting. "Whoa… What happened to Baldy?"

"We'll talk about it when we get to Ed's," Mutt replied.

There was that déjà vu again…

When they arrived at Ed's basement window, Eddy couldn't hold back that ounce of surprise when he saw that the glass was good as new. "Replaced it already? People these days sure work fast."

"You don't know the half of it," Mutt joked as he knocked on the window.

No response.

Before Mutt could knock again, he heard someone else knocking on Ed's bedroom door, immediately followed by Edd's voice. "Ed, please, I want to help you."

"Everyone leave me alone!" Ed cried from inside the room.

"Ed, come on," Mutt called. "Even if this thing's locked, I can pick it open in nothing flat."

Ed didn't respond, which prompted Mutt to reach into his pocket and pull out his wallet. One swipe of his driver's license underneath the window and he and Eddy were in.

Upon jumping into the basement, they found Ed shakily flipping through his collection of comic books and monster movies. Both of them shuddered at the fact that Ed had yet to wash the blood off of himself, and Eddy keenly avoided him by turning around and opening the door for Edd, who had Mutt's shirt clutched in his hand.

"Ed…" Edd immediately rushed over to him. "Please, just tell me you're alright."

"No, Double D," Ed responded. "Ed's not alright."

"Okay, someone tell me _what_ is going on!" Eddy demanded.

"Gladly." Mutt stepped forward, putting on the shirt that Edd offered him, and began his explanation:

"Ed, some of that blood that's been painting the town is, in fact, yours. The other half, based on scent and what I was able to catch glimpses of last night… is _demon blood._"

"D… Demon…?" Ed choked.

Mutt nodded. "Double D, you and I saw the same thing last night, right?"

An anime sweat drop would've been appropriate on Edd's forehead. "I… I-I don't, uh, know what I, uh, saw… b-but it looked- uh, it looked like-"

"Will you quit it with the Jeff Goldblum impression and just get on with it?!" Eddy shouted.

Edd cleared his throat. "There was… something on your roof last night, Ed, and though it was hard to see… it kind of looked like you."

Ed's heart plummeted, and the rest of his body clearly went with it as he toppled off his chair and face-first into the floor.

"Wow. Subtle," Eddy mumbled.

"I knew it," Ed whimpered, his voice echoing off the concrete floor. "I'm the one doing all this."

"Ed, we don't know that yet," Edd told him. "There's no proof that it really was you on the roof and-"

"Double D!" Ed shot back onto his feet. "It's _gotta_ be me! Two mornings in a row I've woken up sick, bloody and clueless about last night. Yesterday, I was in my room and Sarah was hurt. This morning, I wake up behind Jonny's house, covered in splinters, and Plank looks like he had a cameo in the _Alien_ movies. Mutt said that the blood is part mine and part demon, so what if…?"

He picked up one of his comic books and stared at the cover, which consisted of several humans with demonic-looking features.

"What if I'm possessed?"

"Oh, Earth to Ed!" Eddy yelled, slapping the book out of Ed's hand. "There's _no freaking way_ this whole thing is your fault!"

Ed stared at him. "But…"

"Butts are for pooping!"

"Ew!" Edd groaned.

Eddy rolled his eyes and continued, "If you _were_ possessed by a demon -_which you're not_- why wouldn't it just _kill_ Sarah and Jonny?"

Ed blinked.

"Yeah, sure, there's a lot of evidence against you, but not enough to prove that this is all your doing." In a change of tone, Eddy placed a friendly hand on Ed's arm, regardless of the mess covering it. "You're our pal, Ed, and even if we have to face the hordes of Hell, we're gonna help you."

Ed smiled a little. "Yeah… At least everyone's still alive, huh?"

"There ya go! Now how about-?"

Eddy suddenly froze up, his hand tensing on Ed's arm. "E-Eddy?" Ed stuttered.

"Eddy, what's wrong?" Edd nervously asked, snapping his fingers in front of Eddy's stone-cold face.

Mutt tensed up too, but in alert rather than shock, and in an instant he shouted, "Everyone DOWN!"

Without thinking twice, Ed, Edd and Mutt fell to the floor just as a gust of wind struck the basement. Eddy stood there in the eye, his hair and clothes flapping, his eyes wide and unchanging from the strange phenomenon.

"This is- What _is_ this?!" Edd panicked.

Just as suddenly as the wind started, it stopped. Eddy was still rooted in place. The light from the window seemed to hit half his face and nothing else. His mouth was agape and the whites of his eyes seemed to glow.

"The ancient fight has begun once again," Eddy finally said, his voice droning and monotone. "No one is safe. The lands shall be painted with their blood. Their battlefield shall stretch from dusk to dawn. The Dark One's quest will ravage everything until only one remains, and all shall pay the price of the victor's triumph."

Eddy then choked on his own breath, lurched back and fell forward, his impact with the floor sending out a thunderous gust.

Silence.

Ed was the first to step out. "Eddy?"

"Mmph…" He forced himself up. "What just happened?"

"You said something about a fight and how no one is safe from the 'Dark One'."

Eddy blinking in confusion. "I did?"

"O… kay…" Mutt slowly stood up. "Looks like there was more to this than we thought."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Eddy questioned.

"Eddy, something just spoke through you," Mutt said as he helped Edd and Eddy get back on their feet.

"Does that mean _Eddy's_ the one who's possessed?" Ed gasped.

"No! Nobody's possessed!" Eddy shouted.

"Oh yeah… Your blood hasn't touched anything."

"Everyone just _stop_ for a minute!" Edd insisted, rubbing his temples. "I need to think this through."

He paced the floor, mumbling to himself, "Ed's blood… mixed with what might be demon blood. No one's been killed, only hurt. Eddy speaking omens possibly communicated by something else…"

"Eddy, you said you've been having weird dreams," Mutt said.

"Yeah…" Eddy replied in a confused tone.

"Well, if anything, Ed's the one doing the dirty work." He pointed back and forth between the two Eds. "What if there's some kind of connection between what's happening to the two of you?"

Eddy was about to protest, but nothing came out, leaving him stuck with his mouth open and his finger pointed at Mutt.

After a long pause, Edd turned to the others. "Mutt, you never told us everything you saw last night."

"Oh, right!" Mutt shook himself off once. "Well, after we split off, I followed whatever it was that we saw on Ed's roof. I couldn't catch a glimpse of it; only its scent, which was partially the same scent as the blood on the walls."

"Partially?" Eddy repeated.

"Yeah… There always seems to be more than one demon scent in the blood we find."

"SO I'M POSSESSED BY MULTIPLE DEMONS LIKE THAT GUY IN THE BOOK OF MATTHEW?!" Ed screamed.

"No, Ed, I-!" Mutt raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you read the Bible?"

"Why not? It's got action, sci-fi, murder… almost every genre known to man."

Mutt would have to be impressed with that later. "All I'm saying is we can't jump to conclusions yet."

"I agree," Edd spoke up again. "Gentlemen, I suggest we do some field research and study Ed and Eddy's actions during the night. I'll spend the night at Eddy's house and monitor his sleeping patterns."

"Yeah, well expect reruns all night," Eddy groaned. "Seriously, you're not gonna get much out of me."

"We'll see. Mutt, will you be comfortable watching over Ed?"

"I think I can handle it," Mutt answered confidently.

Edd smiled and looked straight at his two best friends. "Don't you fret, fellows. We're going to figure this mystery out."

"Thanks, Double D," Ed sighed.

"Eddy lowered his eyelids. "Who said I was wor-?"

"And Ed…"

("Rrgh…")

"…don't be so hard on yourself, because I'm _positive _that you're innocent."

"You really think so?" Ed asked.

"Absolutely. Now…" Edd backed away, trying his best to keep smiling. "…Perhaps you should wash off. You're quite honestly scaring me."

"Oh yeah…" Ed yelped, remembering the blood that still covered him and rushing into the bathroom to remove it.

Edd took a deep breath. "I'm glad that's settled. Now we can finally ease Ed's troubled mind."

_Ed's not the only one with a troubled mind,_ Eddy thought, something he obviously wasn't about to say out loud.

* * *

After a long day of confusion and cleanup, nightfall was befalling Peach Creek. Edd had set up a makeshift bed on the floor of Eddy's room and a camera on a tripod pointing at Eddy's bed, which of course raised questions when Eddy came out of the shower and saw it.

"Call it a precaution," Edd said as he pulled a notebook out of the bag he brought his supplies in. "Chances are I won't be able to stay awake all night."

"Hm…" Eddy frowned and nodded, then gestured towards Edd's notebook. "That your history report?"

"Yes."

He nodded again and wordlessly fell onto his bed. Edd shot him a quick glare, partially because of Eddy's rudeness and partially because Edd really wanted to tell him what the report was about. Well, he couldn't really blame Eddy. He was probably tired, and he was likely in for a rough night.

Edd just sighed. "Good night, Eddy."

"Yeah… night…" Eddy mumbled back just before he went out cold.

With that, Edd continued to write, constantly alert for anything that might happen in the night.

* * *

A few doors down, a large tan wolf was perched outside Ed's basement window, ears perked and green eyes scanning the area. His attention was primarily focused on the actions going on in Ed's room, but Mutt was ready for anything to be thrown at him, whether it came from inside or outside.

Inside the basement, Ed had locked his door and set up his own camera in front of his bed. He was sweating (harder than usual) at the thought of what he might pick up on film. As he sat down on his bed, he looked straight into the camera and spoke as if he was keeping a video diary.

"Hello, whoever is watching this. Hopefully no one, but still, hi. My name is Ed, and I think I'm possessed… by a demon. I don't know if this camera will catch any of what happens to me, but just in case, I want to see this for myself."

He then laid down, pulled the itchy covers over him and stared out the window.

_First Sarah… then Jonny and Plank. Who will I go after next? I don't want anyone else to get hurt._

For the first time in Ed's life, the thought of being a monster was absolutely terrifying. He had always been an odd one out, but this was different. People were suffering -in Ed's opinion- because of him. Edzilla was never this cruel to his victims, and that was merely a result of Ed's own overactive imagination. This was different. He had no control over what was happening to him and his friends.

Ed was glad Mutt was outside. Even in his wolf form, Ed didn't want to see him take the full force of whatever horrible things he would or could do.

The sun disappeared outside.

Mutt looked inside, letting out a sad whimper at the sight of Ed. He looked so broken and scared, and truth be told, Mutt was too. He knew there were supernatural forces at work, but the ambiguity of the whole situation was unnerving. Was it Ed? Was it Eddy? What was going on on Edd's end of the research team?

He shook his head and scowled at the ground. Something seemed off to him. Why did it feel like Edd was holding something back? Heck, why did it feel like _Eddy_ was holding something back? Mutt just seemed to be in the dark about all the details, and he hated it.

This led to a sense of despair. And loneliness. Was it really Mutt's right to interfere? Sure, he was friends with them, but he wasn't an Ed. He shouldn't be the one making all the decisions. Maybe he had this coming.

Something rustled in the trees.

Mutt instantly snapped into alert, searching around for the source of the noise and the rank stench that came with it. When he heard another rustle, he let out a threatening growl at the trees.

Ed heard this growl, sitting up slightly to see what Mutt was worried about. At first he thought that Mutt was growling at him, like he could sense the demon in him coming out. But the fact that Mutt was facing away from the window disproved that.

"Mutt…?"

Ed choked.

The camera clattered to the floor.

Hearing this, Mutt turned to look through the window again, but found himself torn between Ed's panic and the growing commotion in the trees. On one hand, Ed was screaming up a storm as the grotesque sounds of bones cracking and skin stretching pierced the wolf's eardrums. On the other hand, whatever was in the trees seemed to be getting excited, shaking the tree branches and laughing like a gremlin.

Unable to take it anymore, Mutt sprang for whatever was in the trees.

Something leaped out of the basement window and collided with Mutt.

The snap and the pained howl could be heard for miles.

As the two things that had surrounded him finally clashed, Mutt tried to turn to get a good look at whatever was going on, but he couldn't move two inches without pain striking every molecule of his body. So he scrambled in the grass on his back like a turtle, his front right leg rendered useless, as he listened in terror at the screeching and tearing going on behind him. Blood was already splattering in all directions, their scents burning Mutt's nose.

He could just barely make out Ed's.

With no other option, Mutt morphed into his human form. As soon as he did, the noises in the trees seemed to die down. Mutt put this into consideration as he put his pants on (slowly, considering he could only use one arm) and started hobbling down the cul-de-sac to his house. He painfully clutched his arm, feeling the broken bones underneath.

Considering no one was around to see it, Mutt allowed the tears to flow down his face. He really did have this coming.

He pushed his front door open and called out for his dad.

* * *

_How the heck can Double D sleep through all this screaming?!_ Eddy asked himself as he found his night plagued by a montage of loud, horrific noises.


	3. Day 3: October 30

A/N: Okay, before we continue, I feel I should address this. If you're new to my work and don't know, Mutt Kanker is -in a sense- my EEnE fan character. He's a main character in my series _Legacy of the Popcorn Fairy,_ which takes place in the same universe as EEnE. Hope that clears some things up. On with Chapter 3!

**Day 3: October 30**

By the time midnight had passed, Henry Kanker was still hard at work. When Mutt came to him with a broken arm, he thought that his son's accelerated healing would easily fix it. That wasn't the case. His healing had kicked in, but it was healing the bones in the wrong alignment, so Henry had to try with all his might to re-break Mutt's arm just so he could set it right. Mutt was screaming in agony the whole time, and hearing it hurt the father just as much as it did the son.

Finally, just around one o'clock, the torture was over and Mutt's arm was in a sling. He sat with his father holding him for a while, silence falling after Mutt explained how his arm was broken.

"So… it came from Ed's room?" Henry asked after the pause became too heavy.

"Yeah," Mutt sighed. "I don't know if it was Ed himself, though. I never got a good look at it."

Henry nodded and patted Mutt on his good shoulder. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? It's been a rough night, and I don't see it ending soon."

"Me neither." Mutt stood up. "Thanks, Dad. Night."

"Good night."

Mutt stepped out of his father's office and stopped, looking up and down the upstairs hallway. Then, once he made up his mind, he turned left and walked down to the guest bedroom, quietly cracking the door open. Just as he had guessed, his screaming had woken Sarah up.

He was, however, surprised to see that the horror on her face was almost completely gone. She was just staring at the ceiling like she was trying to recount some sad memory. Eventually, Sarah turned her head to look over at Mutt.

"I've never heard you make such a racket," Sarah said, her voice hoarse as if from disuse.

Mutt smirked. "I've never heard _you_ be so quiet."

Sarah's face twisted awkwardly as if she was trying to smile or laugh at that, but the trauma still got the best of her. She looked away and changed the subject. "I heard what you said… about something coming out of Ed's room and attacking you."

Mutt sat down on the bed next to Sarah. "It didn't attack _me._ I think it was trying to attack something else and I just got in the way."

Sarah nodded slightly.

Silence struck the two as they thought about what they were saying. Who were they kidding? There was nothing in Ed's room big enough to snap Mutt's arm like that. Nothing except Ed.

"Sarah…" Mutt quietly spoke up. "I want you to think for a minute. What _exactly_ did you see the night your room was attacked?"

She tightly closed her eyes. "I saw Ed… I _know_ I saw Ed, even if he didn't look like himself. He was running around my room like a crazy person. And his _eyes…_" Sarah clutched the bed sheets and tried not to cry.

"So you only saw Ed? Nothing else?"

Sarah shook her head. "No…"

Mutt placed his free hand on Sarah's arm. "That's all I need to know, Sarah. Don't worry too much. You can go back to sleep now."

After that, Sarah didn't say anything else and Mutt left her in silence. He walked down the hall to his own bedroom and immediately plunged into bed. There was nothing left to do until the morning but sleep. At least he had a lead now, even if his broken arm rendered him physically useless.

A few doors down, Mutt heard a loud, terrified moo.

* * *

Edd woke up pleasantly surprised. Despite the fact that he slept on the floor all night, he felt well-rested. He yawned, stretched and looked up at Eddy's bed.

Eddy, on the other hand, was sleeping free-fall style with his head buried under his pillow. He didn't look the least bit comfortable.

"Eddy?"

"Rrgh… Five more hours…" Eddy grumbled.

After getting back on his feet, Edd shook Eddy's legs and said, "Eddy, it's morning. Time to get up."

"Don't wanna."

Edd sighed and decided to leave his friend be for another moment, instead opting to check the video camera footage. He stopped the recording, unplugged the camera, unhooked it from the tripod, sat down at Eddy's desk and brought up the playback footage.

The first hour appeared to be nothing but Eddy sleeping, so Edd fast-forwarded until he saw Eddy jerk up, rewound it a few minutes and watched it from there.

Again, nothing happened for those few minutes until Eddy started moaning and finally sat up in shock, nervously looking around his room. _"What the…?!"_ he gasped on the recording; Edd was apparently asleep already.

The camera emitted static for a split second.

"_No, no! Just leave me alone!"_ Eddy whined, lying back down and pulling the covers over his head.

Silence.

After another brief fast-forward, Eddy started to toss and turn, and when the covers slipped down it was clear that he was covering his ears.

"_What are you talking about? I don't know!"_ Eddy said to something that wasn't there. _"Ed? What does this have to do with-?"_

Then the screen faltered for a few seconds and went completely black and silent.

Edd stared at the screen in shock for a few beats, then he fast-forwarded again. Hour after hour of footage passed by, showing him nothing but a blank screen. The footage didn't resume until morning, at the precise moment he woke up.

He turned the camera off and grabbed his head. That did _not_ happen.

When he looked up, Eddy was sitting up in bed, his eyes sunken from another restless night. "Not pretty, huh?"

"I…" Edd shook his head. "The camera shorted out. There's no footage on there for several hours straight."

"It figures. There was an orchestra of chaos going on all night and you didn't seem to hear any of it."

"An…" Edd tried to make sense of what Eddy just said. "There were noises all night and only you heard it?"

"I guess so." Eddy shrugged tiredly.

First supernatural forces talking through him, then him talking to something Edd couldn't see or hear. It was becoming clear that Eddy did indeed play a part in whatever was happening to the cul-de-sac, indirect or otherwise. For the moment, though, Edd could only come to one conclusion:

"We need to talk to Mutt."

* * *

It was times like this when Ed felt sympathy for Han Solo. What did he feel like when he was freed from his carbonite prison? He was blind, yes, but did he feel pain? Sick? Dizzy? Well, however he felt, Ed felt a million times worse.

Once again, he found himself outside, but on a cold, hard surface rather than a grassy field. His body felt like it was made of stone, his head felt ready to burst and his stomach was doing the twist. The world was covered with a white haze and a rancid smell permeated the air around him. When he found the will to at least move his fingers, they not only felt achy and stiff, but also very sticky.

He tried to sit up, pain immediately striking him not just from his own sore body, but from the fact that he hit his head on a bar in the process. His cries of pain lasted for two whole minutes until he managed to curve around the metal workings and sit up straight.

Ed leaned back. His hand rested on something squishy.

When his vision focused, he grabbed whatever he touched and held it up to his face. It was red and weird-looking, almost like guts.

Oh, wait…

"AAAAAHHHHH!"

Ed dropped the entrails in horror. As he did, he discovered that not only was there more surrounding him, but he was so covered in the sticky fluid that his skin was redder than the Cleveland Indians' logo.

"_AAAAAAAUUGGHHHHHHH!_"

His eyes shot up and he found himself in the playground, which might as well have been bombed from the looks of it. Torn fences, twisted swing sets, the slide curved in a loop-de-loop, and play sets that would give you splinters just by looking at them. Everything was covered in blood and some in sand from the obliterated sandbox. Ed himself was lying on the spinning wheel.

"_**AAAAAAAAUUUGGGHHHHHHHH!**_"

Ed was shaking so hard that the spinning wheel shook with him. Shudders escaped him with every breath. His heart rate skyrocketed to the speed of a bird's. This was too much. Sarah was only scratched and mentally scarred. Plank was nearly broken but Jonny was otherwise unharmed. Now… now Ed was surrounded by clear signs that something had been killed. That he had mutilated something. Torn the life from it in cold blood.

He didn't need any more evidence.

_I'm a monster._

Ed didn't want to know who had died by his hand, so he just stood up on unsteady legs and stumbled out of the remains of the playground. His frozen, horrified expression, lack of balance and bloody appearance made him look like a zombie. But he kept going, treading towards the only safe place he could think of.

Once he exited the lane, Ed bolted into Eddy's backyard, using up what little energy he had until he finally collapsed in front of Eddy's bedroom window. He laid there for about a minute, then he hoisted himself back up, pressing his hands against the wall for support.

He smacked the glass.

Inside, Edd was dressed and putting his hat on while Eddy was wearily attempting to put his jeans on. Once the latter was done hopping into his pants, Eddy lifted the blinds.

The wide-eyed, gaping, terrified look on Ed's scratched and blood-stained face was enough to finally bring Eddy to full attention, evoking a scream out of him and Edd.

In a low, dry, scratchy voice, Ed spoke:

"_Help… me…_"

* * *

Not once in his entire life had Ed been filled with the desire to take a shower until this day. But shortly after his disturbing arrival and a brief explanation of what he woke up to, Eddy quickly complied with Ed's request and offered his bathroom to the ruined oaf. Ed practically dived head-first under the cascade of hot water, letting the monstrosity wash off of him.

In the meantime, Edd and Eddy sat on the bed in silence, hardly able to comprehend everything that had happened just in the period of one morning. First the camera snafu after a loud night for Eddy, then Ed waking up in the playground drenched in something's remains. They hadn't even gone to Mutt to hear his half of the story and already they were having mental overloads.

Edd eventually found the will to speak. "I don't want to believe it… but what if Ed really is doing these things in his sleep?"

"Double D, whatever happened to you being the logical one?" Eddy replied. "Would Ed ever do this?"

"Well… no…"

"Maybe Ed's right, though. Maybe something's just controlling him. Maybe…" Eddy trailed off.

"Maybe what?"

"I don't know." He slowly shook his head. "It's weird. Last night, some of the things that repeatedly show up in my dreams started to become clear, and it's like… it's like they're not even dreams at all. It's like it's reality… or at least it _will_ be."

Edd regarded this strangely. "So you think these 'dreams' are… premonitions?"

"Not really. I…"

All of a sudden, a light bulb went off in Eddy's head, illuminating a key detail that had been ignored for so long.

"Wait a minute… _Wait a minute!_" He shot to his feet and rushed over to the door.

"Wait, Eddy!" Edd followed after him. "Where are you going?"

"When Ed comes out, take him to Mutt's," Eddy said, dodging the question. "I'll meet you guys there." Then he slid his door open and walked outside.

He thought he heard Edd say something as he closed the door, but if he did, Eddy ignored it and took off, sprinting in his classic hands-forward style towards the playground. When he got there, he didn't stay long, only sparing a few seconds to take in the damage that had been done. His eyes fell to the ground, scanning around until he spotted a trail of red drops.

"Ha. Pay dirt."

He followed it all the way to the cemetery, frowning slightly. He had planned to stop here last. But he was given the opportunity to come back later when he found a second trail leading from the cemetery back to the cul-de-sac, which he once again followed.

"I think I know where this is going," Eddy mumbled. "Oh, great. Now I'm talking to myself. I swear I'm turning into Double D."

Just as he expected, the drops led to Rolf's house. Specifically to his farm. And right at the end of the trail, he found Rolf digging a moderately large hole.

"Hey, Stretch!" Eddy stopped right at the edge of the hole. "What up with the digging?"

"Hello, Ed-boy," Rolf sighed, his tone full of depression. "Rolf is preparing a resting place for…" A sniffle. "…for his beloved Beatrice."

"Who the heck's Beatrice?"

Eddy looked over at Rolf's farm animals, finding them gathered around the ravaged body that was once Rolf's cow.

"Oh… _That's_ Beatrice."

"Yes." Rolf tossed out another shovel-full of dirt. "The once-proud bovine had her life whisked away just last night by the accursed demons that have plagued this land."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Back up a few steps. Did you say 'demons'?"

"Do you not see it, skunk-haired Ed-boy?" Rolf insisted. "All Hallows Eve is nearly upon us. The time of the weakened barrier has befallen, and the creatures of evil are escaping into our realm of light."

Under any other circumstances, Eddy would say that Rolf was way off his rocker, but after everything that had happened in the past few days, the son of a shepherd's words made the most sense Eddy had heard in a long time.

"So everything that's been happening around here," Eddy concluded, "it's because of demons?"

"I believe it is safe to assume so," Rolf responded.

Eddy nodded and poked his lower lip out. "Thanks for the insight, Rolfie. I'm gonna go now." He turned to leave. "Sorry about your… cow."

That was all Eddy needed to know. Now he had to go back to the cemetery. Why? Because the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the cemetery was a recurring image in his dreams. He didn't know why, but he had a gut feeling that this was where everything began. This was where all his answers awaited him.

He screeched to a halt in the dead center of the property, looking up and down the headstone-lined hills.

"Hello!"

His call echoed from all directions.

"It's me! Eddy!"

Still, his echo was his only reply.

"If you have something to say, say it now! I'm listening!"

If a passing bystander happened to walk by, Eddy would probably look insane to them. But Eddy knew what he was doing. There was a voice that spoke to him in his dreams, a voice that he didn't recognize and yet sounded so familiar. He was hoping he'd find it here.

But after ten minutes of screaming for the voice to give him some answers, Eddy gave up. He was getting nowhere like this. Maybe he was just getting desperate. Who could blame him? The town was turning upside-down.

He sat down in the grass. "Demons. Demons in Peach Creek. They're the ones doing this, not Ed."

After a short pause, Eddy picked up a rock.

"Maybe one of them really _is_ possessing Ed."

His mind went into overdrive. Why? Why were demons doing this? They were hurting his friends. They were using Ed, who did nothing to deserve the blood that stained him every morning. _Why?_

In frustration, Eddy threw the rock. He jumped slightly when it hit something a few yards away. Ever curious, he stood up and went to investigate.

The sound brought him to an intricately-designed pillar surrounded by smaller headstones. When he took a good look, he realized that they all bore his family name, Verra. He quickly figured out that this was the burial site of his ancestors, the founders of Peach Creek.

Eddy knelt down in the grass, inspecting each individual headstone, placing a hand on them as he read their inscriptions one at a time: Dwight Verra, Fleta Verra, Jarvis Verra, Alcott Verra, Palma Verra, Payton Verra…

Something strange happened when Eddy touched this headstone. Every time he rested a hand on his ancestors' names, something filled up his chest, like a warming sense of pride in his heritage. This one, though, the headstone of Payton Verra, left him only with emptiness.

"Weird."

Next to it was the headstone of Audrey Verra. Eddy's eyes immediately caught the date carved into it: 1667-1684. _Wow. This chick died when she was my age._

He rested his hand on the headstone.

"_Your friend's body does not play host to a being of the Netherworld._"

"GAH!" Eddy stumbled backwards in panic. "What the heck?!"

The voice he heard didn't respond. And now that it had actually happened to him, Eddy didn't want to hear it again. Even if more information would be beneficial, Eddy didn't give it another thought. He turned and ran.

"So Ed's _not_ possessed?" he asked himself. "Then what's up with him?"

* * *

"Mutt!" Upon entering the Kanker household, Edd rushed over to their plus-one, inspecting the arm Mutt had resting in a sling. "What happened?"

"Not sure," Mutt replied. "But that's what we're gonna talk about, right?"

"Yes. Of course. Ed?"

Edd waved a bashful Ed into the house. Ed was quickly struck with guilt when he saw Mutt's broken arm. "Mutt… I'm sorry."

"Don't blame yourself for this, Ed. Not yet." Mutt looked around the two Eds. "Where's Eddy?"

"He apparently had something else to investigate," Edd replied. "He said he would meet us here. Let's just start talking and catch him up when he arrives."

Ed and Edd sat down in the two nearby chairs. "Why don't we start with what you encountered last night," Edd insisted.

Mutt nodded. "In all honesty, I don't know what exactly happened. I remember that when night fell, I heard something in the trees by Ed's house just as Ed started to freak out about something."

"I don't remember freaking out," Ed interrupted.

"Well, what's the last thing you remember from last night?"

Ed thought long and hard about it, answering, "Hearing you growl."

"I see. Well, the next thing I knew, something jumped out of Ed's room by the window, collided with me hard enough to break my arm and disappeared. Then there was chaos going on in the trees."

Ed immediately came to a conclusion. "So the demon took over me and attacked you?"

"I wouldn't say that for certain, Ed," Edd reasoned.

"But what else could come out of my room but me?"

"I've been asking myself that all day," Mutt sighed. "I've also asked why it only jumped me and left. Why didn't it even _try_ to kill me?"

Ed and Edd didn't have an answer for that. Edd only asked, "What happened next?"

"I couldn't do anything, so I just turned human again and left. Though I _did_ notice that I couldn't hear the noises anymore once I shifted back."

"Huh…"

"So you didn't hear if I- the demon killed anything?" Ed questioned.

"All I heard from outside was Rolf's cow freaking out."

Ed felt a few of his heartstrings snap in half.

Edd didn't look any more encouraged than he did. "This is definitely getting out of hand. We may have to take some drastic measures if we're going to find any facts."

"Chain me."

Edd and Mutt looked up at Ed in shock. "What?"

"Chain me to a wall tonight," Ed reiterated. "Keep me from killing anyone when the demon possesses me-"

_**WHAM**_

"Ed's not possessed!"

The shock was redirected to the door, where Eddy stood in the open space, arm extended and finger pointing unconvincingly.

Mutt was the first to speak up. "Thanks for knocking, Eddy."

"No prob," Eddy replied before turning to his oldest friend. "Ed, there's no demon possessing you."

"How do you know that?" Ed questioned.

"Someone told me."

"Who?"

"I don't know, but I trust my instincts."

"Eddy, I told you before that I don't want to believe Ed's possessed," Edd reasoned, "but at this point, we can't jump to conclusions, illogical or otherwise. We have to consider every possibility."

"I know, but-"

"Look," Mutt cut in. "Ed wants to believe one thing, Eddy wants to believe another, Double D doesn't know _what_ to believe and I just want to figure out what the _heck_ is going on. It's been three days and we're still clueless as to what's going on with both Ed and Eddy. _Why?_"

The look Mutt was giving him told Edd that an answer was expected out of him. "Well… In terms of the phenomenon affecting Ed and Eddy, you had to leave the scene due to your broken arm and my camera blacked out overnight…"

"_Exactly._ We never saw it for ourselves."

Edd saw where this was going. "Of course. Good thinking, Mutt. Tonight we should all get together, stay awake as long as we possibly can and observe each other's actions."

Even if Eddy firmly believed the voice in his dreams, he was willing to go through with that plan. "Sounds good to me."

Ed nodded. "Okay. But can you still hold me down? Just in case?"

Mutt sighed. "Ed…" He shook his head and changed the subject. "For the time being, I'm not exactly useful in a physical sense. Only for insight. So if something gets out of hand, you guys can't depend on the wolf."

"Fair enough," Edd complied. "Now we just need a secure place to camp out and keep watch."

"Hey," Eddy said to Edd. "Aren't your parents out on a business trip?"

"Yes. Why?"

* * *

"Eddy, I don't have a good feeling about this! Father is so compulsive when it comes to his garage, especially after that incident where Ed thought he was a monster!"

"Calm down, Ravenclaw," Eddy groaned as he secured Ed to his place on the wall. "It's not like this is gonna be a repeat of that day."

"I wouldn't say that yet," Mutt said. "Don't freak out or anything, but Ed's scent has been changing for the past hour."

Ed gulped, then yelped. "Too tight!"

"Sorry, buddy." Eddy graciously loosened up the chains around Ed's wrist. "You know, we don't have to do this."

"I know."

Edd opened up his laptop. "Just promise me you all will be careful not to disturb anything in here."

"Cross my heart, hope you'll shut up," Eddy replied.

That comment slid right off Edd's back as he stared at the file for the final draft of his history report. Should he tell the others what is was about so long as it could help them? No. Not yet. But soon.

For a while, as the sun set outside the garage window, the Eds and Mutt sat in silence, waiting for something to happen. The only noises were the chains rattling every time Ed tried to get comfortable and the clicking of Edd's laptop keyboard as he typed the last paragraphs of his report. Mutt kept his gaze fixated on Ed, who would occasionally look up and meet his gaze. Eddy stared off into space, waiting for the voice and the visions that came with it.

Finally, Mutt stood up and moved to the window. Edd watched him and asked, "What is it, Mutt?"

"I smell something. Outside."

Intrigued, Edd and Eddy stood up and joined him. Ed craned his neck, trying to look around them from his awkward position.

"What the…?" Eddy pointed at one point on the window so his finger overlapped the strange figure he saw. "Is _that_ what you're smelling?"

"Is what?" Mutt asked.

"That right there. That weird-looking thing in front of your house."

"I don't see anything."

"How can you not see it?! It's that brown thing that looks like a human crossed with one of those hairless cats!"

Edd and Mutt shot him identical strange looks. "Eddy, what are you talking about?" Edd questioned.

Eddy was about to protest again, but he caught on just as he opened his mouth. _They don't see it. Just like they don't hear the voices…_

"_NYAUGH!_"

The trio whipped around at the sound of Ed crying out in pain. The chains shook, rattling an ear-piercing cacophony, as Ed tried to lurch back.

"E-Ed?" Edd gasped.

A loud crack emanated from deep within Ed's being, prompting the three to back up against the wall. There they watched as Ed's face started to change. His eyes were shut so tightly in agony that his strained eyebrow tore into two. His head distorted, his neck pulling back and the space where a chin belonged jutting out ever so slightly. His teeth yellowed more than usual and snapped out of place, and deeper inside Ed's mouth, Eddy swore he could see a white light illuminating from Ed's throat.

Finally, the madness stopped and Ed hunched forward, his breaths ragged and distorted.

Eddy was the first to step out, disbelief swelling up inside of him. This made no sense. How did this happen to Ed? Had the voice _lied_ to Eddy?

"Y… You okay, Ed?"

"Untie me."

Eddy jumped back a step. That was NOT Ed's voice. That wasn't even anything remotely resembling Ed's voice. In fact, despite the horror he had just gone through, the voice came out as a soothing -albeit strict- tenor.

"W-What?"

Ed's head suddenly shot up and he scowled menacingly at the group, his eyes blazing an intense amber brown. "Untie these chains, you mangy _fools!_"

In panic, Eddy rejoined the others. Edd tried several times before he found his voice. "Ed, it's us. Your friends. We want to help you."

"And you can _help_ by RELEASING ME!"

Ed, or at least whatever was controlling him, ferociously struggled to free himself from the chains that bound him, all the while shouting, "You don't know the gravity of your mistake! If I am kept here, you will all be doomed!"

Mutt decided to be the brave one, speaking with an even tone, "Doomed from _what?_"

He stopped his attempts long enough to fixate them with his sharp gaze. "From all that you don't see. From the terror that has reawakened in this land. From everything that has haunted my people since their dawning." Then he resumed his raging efforts.

And just like that, Eddy understood.

He once again moved towards Ed, this time with much less hesitation. To Edd and Mutt's surprise, he grabbed the chains and started to release their hold on Ed.

"Eddy?!"

"Dude, what are you doing?!"

But he didn't answer. He only pulled the chains away until there wasn't a single one pinning Ed to the wall.

Ed then stood up, ran over to the garage door and pulled it open (without damaging it, to Edd's relief). Before he stepped out, he turned back and said, "Thank you, Eddy. Now I would advise that you sleep."

Eddy made no gesture of response. He merely watched as Ed took off in a sprint down the sidewalk.

"Are you nuts?!" Mutt shouted once he was gone. "Do you know what you've just done?!"

"Actually…" Edd spoke up, "I think _I_ do."

"What?"

"Excuse me," Eddy mumbled, calmly stepping out and walking across the street to his own home.

Mutt blinked, properly confused. "This… did _not_ just happen."

"At least he was kind enough not to damage Father's garage." Edd picked up his laptop and once again stared at the screen. "That leaves me with only one thing to worry about."


	4. Day 4: October 31

**Day 4: October 31**

For the first time in days, just as the clock struck midnight, Eddy had no problem falling asleep. He slipped into a dream world that was not nearly as chaotic as those he had witnessed the nights before. Ironically, though, there _was_ chaos, but it was all freeze-framed. Strange creatures surrounded him, each one paused in a battle stance or mid-strike.

"I don't get it," he said. "What are you trying to show me?"

"_The past._"

Eddy looked up and took in the environment for the first time. He was in the cemetery, but beyond that he saw what could only be described as Peach Creek in its earliest days.

"Peach Creek's past involved demons?" Eddy skeptically asked.

"_Yes. It did._"

At long last, the voice Eddy had heard time after time took on a physical form. A white mist rose from the resting place of his ancestors and formed into the shape of a ghostly yet strangely beautiful pilgrim girl, no older than Eddy was. It was weird, but there were a lot of things about her that reminded Eddy of himself; her hair, her face, her height…

"Audrey," Eddy spoke up. "You're Audrey Verra, aren't you?"

"_I am,_" the ghost replied. "_I have been trying to communicate with you for days, and now that the boundary between the mortal and spirit world is at its thinnest, I can do so with ease._"

"What do you want?"

"_I wish to explain the chaos your home has endured over this short time, as I'm sure you have deduced by now._"

"Right… So what does this have to do with Ed?"

Audrey smiled sadly. "_Allow me to start at the beginning._"

* * *

It was ironic that Eddy slept restfully while Edd was struck with insomnia that night. Images of Ed's face twisting into something it wasn't haunted him from dusk to dawn. When he wasn't trying to sleep, though, he continued writing his report and ultimately managed to finish it.

Now that he knew what was going on with Ed, Edd felt it was the right time to tell his friends.

Come sunrise, Edd made himself a large enough breakfast to give him the energy boost he needed. After that, while he was getting dressed and finishing his tea at the same time, he received a call from Mutt.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Double D. Heard anything from Eddy yet?_"

"Not yet. We all need to get together, though. I think I finally know what to talk about."

"_Good. It's about time._"

"And what about Ed? Have you seen him?"

"_I went out to inspect the town… I did see one heck of a bloodbath out in the woods and Ed's scent was definitely lingering there, but other than that, Ed's gone._"

Edd gulped. "Gone? W-What do you mean…?"

"_I mean his truck isn't in his driveway, like he left town._"

"Oh… Well, we need to find him! He deserves to know what's going on too!"

"_Right. Let's get Eddy and we'll talk about it along the way._"

"Agreed. I'll meet you outside."

"_See ya._"

"Good bye." Edd hung up, finished his tea, cleaned himself off, grabbed his laptop and jacket and headed outside.

Mutt met him halfway between their houses. "You alright? You look a little dark under the eyes."

"Yes, I'm fine," Edd replied. "It just wasn't easy to sleep last night."

"I hear that. The only thing that kept me from a sleepless night was the fact that Ed didn't attack us."

"And I think I understand why."

"You wanna start now or wait until Eddy wakes up too?"

"Let's get Eddy first."

With both in silent agreement, Edd and Mutt rushed across the street to Eddy's house, then circled around to his back door. Edd immediately knocked on the door and stood back, waiting patiently for Eddy. A couple minutes passed without an answer.

He knocked again. "Eddy, we need to talk to you!"

After another wait, there was still no reply.

As he knocked again, louder this time, Edd turned to Mutt and asked, "Is he in there?"

"Yep," Mutt responded, his eyes squinting to get a look past the window shades but his nose still in good working order. "I think he's still in bed."

Edd blinked. "Either he's too exhausted to get up or he's actually in a deep sleep."

Mutt exchanged an awkward look with him, the Edd slowly grabbed the door handle. He felt himself frown with annoyance when he found it to be unlocked. How many times had he told Eddy to lock his door at night?

But when he stepped inside, that annoyance turned into terror.

"OH MY GOD, EDDY!"

Yes, Eddy was sound asleep, but he wasn't necessarily _in_ bed. What Edd and Mutt saw was practically _Ghostbusters_ personified as Eddy hovered four feet above his bed.

"Holy-!" Mutt rushed over and pushed Eddy down, pinning him to the bed with much more effort than he had expected. When he let go, Eddy, still sleeping like a rock, immediately floated back up.

"This… isn't…" Edd stumbled over to the other side of the bed, pointing a shaky finger at his hovering friend. "What's happening to him?"

Mutt just shook his head and gave him a clueless expression.

"Dear Lord, just when I thought I had figured this out!"

"Okay, calm down!" Mutt insisted.

"Calm down? The cul-de-sac has been turn upside-down in just four days! I can't be expected to think straight anymore! Ed's gone and is being controlled, Eddy's channeling something beyond ourselves, and- I can't take much more of this, Mutt! _I just can't take this!_"

"Oh, for the love of…" With his free hand, Mutt grabbed Eddy's shirt and shook him. "Eddy! Eddy, if you can hear me, wake up and knock some sense into your friend here!"

"Hmm…"

Eddy's heart rate started to pick up, much to Mutt's relief. "Eddy, it's us! We need to talk about Ed!"

"Ed?!"

Suddenly, Eddy's eyes flew open and gravity kicked in again, sending him plummeting back down onto his bed. He then scrambled frantically in his sheets until he froze up in a panting heap.

"E-Eddy…" Edd reached out for him. "Are you okay?"

"Where's Ed?" Eddy firmly asked.

"We… think he left town…"

"What?! That idiot! He's gonna get us all killed!" He pulled himself free and hopped out of bed. "I'm getting dressed. You guys meet me in the driveway. We gotta find Lumpy."

Edd and Mutt were properly surprised by Eddy's sudden drive. Stunned silent, they found no other option but to listen, slowly making their way out the door to give him his privacy.

A few minutes later, the trio reunited in Eddy's driveway. They climbed into Eddy's van -the remodeled van from the junkyard- and took off, ready to begin their pursuit of their MIA friend.

"Alright, Sock-a-lot," Eddy said once they were out of the cul-de-sac. "Tell me what you know and I'll throw in my two cents when necessary."

"Okay…" Edd hesitantly replied, silently questioning what Eddy knew.

As he pulled out his laptop, Edd began, "First and foremost, I apologize for not sharing this information sooner. I had my doubts that my history report had any relevance to this situation, but now I'm almost certain it does."

"You guys were writing reports on old ghost stories, right?" Mutt asked.

"Yes. And I decided to do mine on the legend of Peach Creek's ancient demon rulers." Edd typed in his password and pulled up the final draft of his report.

"In the days before Fort Peach Creek's founding, much of the land in this county was regarded by the natives as sacred grounds. It was inhabited by creatures of the Netherworld, who came to our world through a river that rests in what is now Lemon Brook. They were ruled over by five demons: Mahkah, guardian of the earth, Adahy, guardian of the plants, Tohopka, guardian of the animals, Chowilawu, guardian of the water, and Shizhe'e, the high protector. They lived peacefully in unison, but over time they grew drunk with power, punishing anyone who set foot on their grounds by demanding human sacrifice. When Eddy's ancestors arrived and claimed the land, the demons tried to drive them away, taking the life of Audrey Verra in the process. As revenge, a team led by her brother, Payton, hunted the demons down and forced them to leave, but was unable to kill them."

"And now those demons have returned," Eddy continued. "They've come back to reclaim the land. And Ed's been possessed by the spirit of Payton so he has a vessel he can use to fight them again."

"So Ed's been _saving_ us this whole time," Mutt concluded.

"Yeah… he has," Eddy said. "But it's not gonna do Payton much good if Ed runs away. He's already taken down the weaker four. First it was the earth demon…"

"Ed's basement, an underground structure, was ruined," Edd mumbled.

"…then the plant one…"

"Plank, a byproduct of a tree, was broken."

"…then animals…"

"Rolf's cow was slaughtered."

"…and last night, water."

"I'm… not sure about that one."

"There was a flood down at the swimming hole," Mutt filled in. "No one was seriously hurt, but some small animals probably drowned. Now answer me _this,_ Eddy. How come yesterday you said Ed wasn't possessed?"

"I misunderstood what Audrey was trying to tell me," Eddy responded. "She just said Ed wasn't possessed by a Netherworld creature, which is true. He's possessed by a _spirit._"

"This also explains the dreams you've been having." Edd tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Apparently Audrey has been trying to communicate to us through you as a spiritual medium, but was unable to do so clearly because despite the barrier between worlds thinning at this time of year, it wasn't thin enough for her to pass through. But today, on Halloween, with the boundary at its thinnest, _anything_ could roam into our world, friendly or malevolent."

"And that's exactly why we need to find Ed," Eddy said darkly.

"Right. Payton still has to fight this… shi-he-eh guy," Mutt said.

"There's more to it than that," Eddy raised his voice. "When the high protector steps out to confront Ed… Payton… whatever… he's not gonna step out alone. As long as Netherworld creatures can enter our world at ease, he's gonna lead them against us."

Edd and Mutt went silent, contemplating what they had just been told.

"So obviously Payton can see them," Mutt eventually spoke up. "Eddy can at least see the spirits of his ancestors, so maybe he can see the demons too. From what I can tell, I can see and hear them in wolf form, but with my arm out of commission, so am I. At least I can still smell."

"There's also a strong possibility that human eyes will be able to see them when they come out tonight," Edd said. "Under ordinary circumstances, demons should be fully visible at all times unless protected by some kind of sorcery, which must be the case since no one except Eddy and Mutt in wolf form could see or hear them."

"When I talked to Audrey, she was still trying to figure that one out," Eddy told him. "But that's a possibility."

Edd nodded. "I suppose we'll just have to let the night's events occur as they happen. Right now, our main priority is Ed. He's our best hope."

Eddy and Mutt nodded along solemnly. The silence that followed quickly became unbearable. Seeking something to take his mind off of the oncoming threat, Eddy turned on the radio and flipped through the channels.

"_If you wanna get out alive… run for your life"_

_CLICK_

"_I… I feel like a monster!"_

_CLICK_

"_Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!"_

_CLICK_

"_What I've done  
I'll face myself to cross out what I've become  
Erase myself and let go of what I've done"_

With a sigh, Eddy settled on the Linkin Park song and kept driving. Though he didn't say it out loud, he knew exactly where he was going.

* * *

A rusty green pickup truck pulled to a halt in the parking lot of the run-down amusement park. Ed turned it off and climbed out of the driver's side, locking the door as he stared at the pink billboard handing over his head. Oh, Mondo A-Go Go. What memories Ed had here. The happy, the sad, and the scary. His life changed in that amusement park, and now again.

With his high physicality, hopping the fence was a piece of cake for Ed. He wandered through the grounds with his hands in his pockets, looking around at the rides and Halloween decorations. Chances were the park would close for winter after tonight, but that was the least of his worries. He had to get this job done before the park opened at noon.

Up ahead, he spotted the whale-shaped trailer, anxiously dashing up to it and knocking on the door. He waited for a minute and knocked again. This time he heard footsteps stomping up to the door, then it opened partially, stopped by the chain lock.

"How many times to I have to say it?" the gruff voice moaned from the other side. "Get lost. Come back at noon."

"Mr. Eddy's-brother-sir, don't you remember me?" Ed asked, moving closer to the door.

A pause fell. Ed hoped he was looking him over, remembering their last encounter at this exact spot.

"Oh, yeah…" he mumbled. "You're Pipsqueak's pal. Hang on."

The door closed and clicked as it was unlocked. Then it swung open again, revealing the tired mess that was Eddy's older brother. "You alone?"

"Yep," Ed nodded, eyes on the ground. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

"I'm not one for favors, kid. They usually imply that I'll have to pay you back."

Ed shook his head. "No, you don't have to. …I've been doing bad things."

Bro kicked the door shut. "Do tell."

"I'm possessed by a demon, and I've been hurting people at night."

"Demonic possession, huh?"

The Eds had learned this some time ago, but Eddy's brother was secretly a paranormal hunter. He worked at the amusement park for two purposes: to serve as a typical carnie during the day and to rid the park of the demons that often plagued it at night. Next to Ed himself, he probably knew the most about supernatural creatures out of anyone in the franchise.

Pulling out a cigarette and lighter, Bro asked, "I'll need some details. Are you at all conscious whenever it takes control of you?"

"Nope."

"So you have no immediate memories of what it does at night."

"Right."

"Do you have any idea what it might be doing?"

"Well, every time I wake up, I'm all bloody and someone is hurt."

"Have you tried to get rid of it?"

"I don't know how to talk to it and I don't have anything to try an exorcism with. That's why I came here."

"Well, I'm no exorcist, kid." He blew out a puff of smoke. "I just point the gun and shoot."

Ed swallowed hard. "That's another option."

Bro raised an eyebrow. "You came all this way just to have me shoot you?"

Ed tightly closed his eyes and nodded. "Double D and Eddy would try to stop me, but I gotta do what's best for my friends."

"Wow. Taking your life to save others'? That takes some balls." He opened the door and stepped inside. "You got guts."

"Yeah, I got guts alright," Ed mumbled as Bro disappeared into the trailer.

Moments later, he reemerged with a double-barreled shotgun in his hand and a playful smile on his face. "I've been wanting to use this beauty all month."

"IGA Coach?" Ed questioned. "Like the one in _Zombieland?_"

"Yeah. Great movie."

"It was," Ed agreed sadly.

In a rare moment, Bro gave Ed a look of sympathy. "Hey… Just so you know, I've never had to do this before. I've never been _asked_ to do this before. What you're doing now, protecting your pals by taking yourself out of the equation… it's one of the bravest things I've ever witnessed."

He placed a hand on Ed's shoulder. "I'm sure you led a good life."

Ed nodded. "With good friends."

Bro's hand slipped off. "Might not have known you too long, but I think it was pretty cool to meet you."

"You too."

With that, Bro backed away and loaded the gun. "Ready?"

"Ready."

With the barrels pointed at Ed, he closed his eyes and tried to give himself one last happy thought.

_Eddy… Double D… you're safe now. My friends. My pals._

"_**ED, NO!**_"

Ed's eyes shot open as he and Bro whirled around towards the park entrance, where a purple, flame-streaked van screeched to a halt. Edd, Eddy and Mutt piled out of it and immediately clung to the fence.

"Don't do it, Ed!" Eddy shouted. "You're not hurting anybody!"

"But…!" Ed called back. "But what about Sarah? And Plank and Rolf's cow! And all the blood!"

"You're not the one causing the damages, Ed!" Edd cut in. "There are demons invading Peach Creek, but you're not possessed by any of them!"

"Yeah, you're being used by my ancestor's spirit to _fight_ the demons!" Eddy picked up. "You've been _protecting_ us this whole time!"

As they shouted at him, Mutt managed to pick the gate locks and pushed his way inside, making a mad dash towards Ed and Eddy's brother while the other two Eds followed right behind him.

"Get that thing away from our friend!" Mutt shouted, knocking the shotgun out of Bro's hands.

Edd and Eddy stopped right next to Ed, panting from the near-impossible feat of keeping up with Mutt. "Don't…" Eddy wheezed. "…ever… do that… again… Ed. Darn you. You nearly scared us to death."

"We were so worried," Edd cried as he and Eddy wrapped their friend in a tight embrace.

Ed looked at the two of them with confusion in his eyes. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course we were, you big lug!" Eddy shouted. "You're our best friend!"

"We'd be devastated if anything happened to you!" Edd said.

As they pulled their friend closer, tears welled up in Ed's eyes and he hugged them back. "My friends… my pals…" He sniffled. "My name here."

Bro frowned. "Okay, this turned sappy fast. And who are you?"

"Mutt Kanker," Mutt replied.

"Kanker, huh? I dated a girl named Kanker once."

If he didn't know any better, Mutt would've thought he was having an aneurism.

But the Eds didn't notice. They were too wrapped up in this moment. "So I _haven't_ been hurting everybody?" Ed asked.

"Nope." Eddy looked up at him. "It was just the demons. All you've been doing is fighting them under Payton's influence."

"Payton?" Bro questioned. "Payton Verra? Our ancestor who drove out the demons that originally inhabited Peach Creek?"

"Yes…" Edd released his end of the hug and took on a serious note with Bro. "Do you know anything about it?"

"I know that because Payton wasn't able to kill the demons, he instead made a blood pact with them: they stay off our land, they become bound to our blood so ordinary humans not in our family can't see them."

"Well, that fills in our final blank," Mutt said.

"So why did Payton choose _me?_" Ed questioned. "Why not a Verra?"

"Well, I was out of reach and Dad's not as limber as he used to be," Bro replied. "And… well, Eddy wasn't really the best choice."

"What?!"

"Face it, you're a weakling."

"I am not!"

"Enough, you two!" Edd snapped. "We need to focus on the matter at hand. Tonight, when Shizhe'e strikes, it will be up to Ed and Eddy to stop him."

"Payton's gotta fight one more demon?" Ed asked nervously.

"Not just one," Eddy responded grimly. "It's Halloween, Ed. With a demon this powerful loose on the night when the boundary's at its thinnest, you can bet he'll have reinforcements. Come nightfall, we'll be facing a disaster of Biblical proportion."

"What do you mean 'Biblical'?" Bro asked.

"What he means is Old Testament," Mutt answered. "Real wrath-of-God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling!"

"Forty years of darkness!" Edd continued. "Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave!"

Eddy finished with, "Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! _Mass hysteria!_"

"ENOUGH! I get the point!" Bro shouted. "So what do you intend to do about it?! You really think you can take down an army of demons by yourselves? No. You need an expert. An expert with the same tie to those freaks as Pipsqueak."

He picked up his shotgun. "That's what you've got me for."

Eddy was shocked. "But Bro, don't you have to watch the park?"

"Eh, I've got an intern who can handle it. _This_ sounds like a fun Halloween waiting to happen."

"Yeah. Fun," Mutt grumbled, frustrated by the broken arm that stood between him and lending a hand.

Edd took a deep breath. "Well, good. Looks like we have another pair of eyes. Now we need a plan. Ed and Eddy's brother will be on the offensive."

"I'll bring my ride," Bro said. "Ride around town and keep any demons from leaving town limits."

"Sounds good to me. Mutt and I will divide the other cul-de-sac denizens into two groups and hide them in our houses. Eddy, you keep watch outside and do whatever you can to keep the demons away from us."

Everyone nodded in mutual agreement. Eddy patted Ed on the back. "Feel better now?"

"Much," Ed breathed.

"Alright," Mutt cheered, throwing his free hand into the center of the group. "Let's get down there and show them whose town they're messing with."

"Yeah!" Eddy shouted, putting his hand on Mutt's.

"Oh, yeah!" Bro agreed, stacking his hand in.

"We can do this, gentlemen," Edd said, putting his hand in. "Together."

Ed just smiled and stacked his hand on top. One pleasing though repeated in his mind:

_I'm _not_ a monster._

* * *

Dusk came. Edd and Mutt explained the situation to the cul-de-sac kids and divided them up; Jimmy, Jonny and a repaired Plank joined a near-fully-recovered Sarah at Mutt's house, while Kevin, Rolf and Nazz secured themselves in Edd's house.

Eddy sat perched in a tree behind his friends' neighboring houses. Upon returning home, his brother had given him some shooting lessons. Now, armed with a Winchester, a Magnum, a bow and a quiver of arrows, Eddy was by all means nervous but still ready to go Hawkeye on any demon he saw.

Bro sat behind the wheel of his SUV, currently parked in his parents' driveway. The backseat was loaded with everything from a Heckler & Koch to a Benelli M4 and even a few grenades. As he watched the sun set, he tapped a beat on the steering wheel and sighed, "It's good to be home."

Finally, right in the center of the cul-de-sac, Ed stood tall and firm, fists gripped and ready for action, even though he wasn't the one who would be doing the fighting. Still, he was playing host to their best hope, so he felt the weight of this responsibility no less. He only had one request:

"Payton… if you can hear me, you can use my body, but let me stay awake to watch the fight."

He wasn't expecting to hear a response, so he wasn't disappointed when none came.

The walkie-talkie hooked to his pants pocket buzzed. _"Is everybody ready?"_ Edd asked.

"_We're safe over here,"_ Mutt replied.

"_Good to go,"_ Eddy said.

"_Ready to kick some,"_ Bro chuckled.

Ed pushed the button and said, "Let's do this."

He hooked it back and raised a fist to the sky. "Hear me out, accursed demon! Do what you want to me, but when you harm my friends, that's when I get mad! It's time for you to return to whence you came! Your attempts are for naught! _SO SAYS LOTHAR!_"

The sun vanished and a crack of thunder echoed across the town. Ed took a deep breath and surrendered control of his body, allowing the spirit of Payton Verra to assume a physical form one last time. But the world didn't go black for Ed. As he had requested, when his eyes were forced open, he could still see and think. He just couldn't move.

"Are you satisfied, Ed?" Payton asked politely.

_Yes, I am,_ Ed thought, his thoughts mingling with Payton's.

"Good. Then I will take it from here."

A large shadow appeared over the horizon, stretching out over the land. Payton looked up, his amber eyes not betraying an ounce of fear, as the shadow took form. Towering over him was a solid black figure whose body was one with its shadow, the only sources of color being its red eyes and white, jagged grin.

"Hello again, Shizhe'e," Payton said calmly.

"Payton Verra," the demon said, seeing the spirit of his old enemy through Ed's skin. "It's been so long. Why did you kill my companions? I thought we had a deal."

"We _did_ have a deal, but _you_ broke it!"

"As I had to. Your miserable people have desecrated this land-"

"Desecrate _this!_" Bro shouted, firing at the demon from inside his SUV.

Shizhe'e screeched in pain as round after round of bullets pelted him. He snarled down at Bro, and from his shadow emerged a horde of smaller demons.

Down the street, Mutt looked out the window of his house, grabbing his walkie-talkie and saying into it, "Guys! I can see the demons!"

What he didn't see was blood dripping from Shizhe'e's fingertips, and as it flowed onto the demons, they suddenly vanished.

"Wait, strike that. I can't now."

"The big guy's giving them his blood," Bro explained. "It puts them under the pact. Only Verras can see demons with our blood. You ready for the fun part, Eddy?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Eddy breathed, sounding neither excited or nervous.

With the other Verras occupied, Shizhe'e turned back to Payton, not waiting another moment to strike. As the demon swooped down, Payton leaped up and slammed down onto his head, raking Ed's fingernails along his back as he slid down it like a ramp.

Meanwhile, Bro started up the car and drove, one hand on the wheel and the other pointing a gun out the window. The nearby demons that weren't run over by the SUV found themselves filled with bullets.

Some of them started running towards Eddy, prompting him to grab the Winchester. He repeated his bro's instructions for each demon that approached: "Aim, dead center, exhale, shoot, double tap. Aim, dead center, exhale, shoot, double tap." And, much to his surprise, it was working.

Shizhe'e grabbed Payton in his massive grip, intent on crushing him. Payton struggled back, using Ed's brute strength to his advantage, freeing his arms, grabbing Shizhe'e's thumb and index fingers and snapping them forward, breaking them. When the demon dropped him, screaming in pain, a free-falling Payton threw Ed's fist into his opponent's stomach strong enough to break through skin.

Bro raced through town, unloading his guns on the demons and enjoying every minute of it. One of them jumped on his windshield, which he responded to by turning on the wipers. As soon as it was pushed of, he jabbed the barrel of his gun into its temple and fired. "This is better than Black Ops!"

"Double D," Eddy said into his walkie. "Don't panic, but one of them's trying to climb inside your window. I'm gonna try the bow on it."

"Okay, Eddy," Edd whispered, then turned to the others. "Everyone stay down."

Eddy grabbed the bow and an arrow and aimed, holding his breath and trying to keep himself steady. He slowly exhaled and released; the arrow flew forward and landed in the demon's chest, making it fall dead to the ground.

"OH YEAH! WHOO! I am _awesome!_"

To Edd's shock, even if he couldn't see the demon, he saw the blood it left behind.

In Ed's mind, as Payton fought hand-to-hand with Shizhe'e, dramatic final battle music was playing in his head, which seemed to fire Payton up even more. He jumped up, grabbed the demon's shoulder and wrapped Ed's legs around his arm, dodging Shizhe'e's attempts to knock him off as he squeezed and twisted. Eventually the arm popped out of place, and after loosening his grip, Payton dug Ed's fingernails into the demon's skin and tore until the arm fell off completely.

Bro heard the resulting scream all the way in the junkyard, and the terrified looks on the many demons' faces fired him up. "Not so tough now, are ya?! _ARE_ YA?!" He laughed like a madman as he floored the gas, using a garbage mound as a ramp. As the SUV soared through the air, Bro stuck his head out of the sunroof and open fired on every demon below, never missing a target.

Eddy was unaware of a demon that was forcing its way into Mutt's house through a window on the opposite side of the house. Though he couldn't see or hear it, Mutt could smell it. While Sarah, Jimmy and Plank locked themselves in the spare bedroom, Mutt and Jonny scrambled downstairs, prepared to do whatever they could to fight off the invisible creature. "Eddy, there's one in my house," Mutt said into his walkie.

"_Hang tight, I'll be right there."_

But as soon as Mutt put it away, Jonny was tackled.

"Jonny!"

"For cryin' out loud!" Frantically, Jonny reached for a nearby fireplace shovel and aimlessly swung it around in a sad attempt to hit the demon. He cried out in pain when it scratched him in the face.

"GET OFF OF HIM!" Mutt shouted, springing towards where he sensed the demon. In his leap, Mutt was surprised by the sudden fiery burst that coursed through him, changing him from man to wolf in midair. The sling snapped off of him and his broken arm straightened out in time for him to tackle the demon.

Through his wolf eyes, he could see the creature clearly. He sunk his teeth into its neck and flung it around. The door burst open, signaling Eddy's arrival. In response, Mutt threw the demon into the air, where Eddy aimed and fired at it.

"Hey, you shifted!" Eddy cheered. "Good for you! You can guard the front of the houses while I stay out back."

Mutt smiled and nodded.

"Head back upstairs, Jonny-boy. Jimmy can patch you up."

"Sure thing, Eddy," Jonny choked, rushing back up the stairs.

Payton found himself crushed to the ground by Shizhe'e's other hand. He tried to reach behind him to no avail, then he reached to his right, grabbed the thumb that he had broken and yanked it out, using it to stab Shizhe'e's palm. It retreated, shaking it off while Payton recuperated.

_Huh…_ Ed thought. _I wonder what would happen if his body was disconnected from his shadow._

Payton's eyes lit up. "Ed, that's brilliant!"

It was easy to see that Shizhe'e was losing focus as he lost blood. That made the job of finishing him off easier. Payton picked up the disconnected arm and quickly wrapped it around the demon so that the sharp fingers were driven into his body. Then he pulled with all his might.

"What- NO!" Shizhe'e was about to reach down and strike Payton, but out of nowhere, Bro's SUV crashed into the open.

"I'M BAAAAAACK!" Bro shouted, throwing a grenade at the monstrous demon.

Just as he had aimed, the grenade flew into Shizhe'e's mouth, forcing him to swallow it. At the same time, with one last, hard yank, Payton sliced the demon's body away from his shadow. The body started to collapse as the grenade in his exploded, blowing him apart and scattering his remains all over the cul-de-sac.

Ed/Payton was blown back by the force, landing amongst the carnage. The SUV was pushed sideways, and inside, Bro pulled the emergency brake and ducked down under the dashboard. Mutt bent down and covered his sensitive ears. Eddy was thrown out of his tree. Everyone in the houses froze with fear.

It was probably five minutes before someone spoke up again.

"How do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them?! There's no way!" Ed screamed, covering his ears. "The movie industry is completely irresponsible for the way they portray explosions!"

He sat up, surprised by what had just happened. "Hey, I can talk! And move!"

"ALRIGHT!" Bro whooped as he jumped out of his car. "That was awesome!"

"I know!" Ed laughed.

"We came, we saw…"

"…we KICKED ITS BUTT!"

The two continued to cheer and exchange high-fives as the other two Eds and a now-human Mutt ran up to them. "Ed, Bro!" Eddy called.

"Guys!" Ed stood up and met them halfway.

"I don't believe it!" Edd panted.

"Ne meither! Oh, uh, me neither!"

"That was amazing!" Mutt yelled, throwing his arms -both fully functional- to the sky.

"Hey, uh… guys?" Eddy spoke up.

The team looked around. With Shizhe'e defeated, the blood pact had ended and the demons were visible. They didn't attack, though. They just stared at them, terrified.

Ed pointed at them threateningly. "You want some of this? You don't want none of this!" They all started to back away from the powerful young men. "Yeah, you better run! We can take any of you!"

No one took on that challenge. Before they knew it, Peach Creek was demon-free.

"So…" Edd breathed. "It's finally over."

"Looks like it," Mutt agreed.

The brothers exchanged smiles. "Nice shooting, Tex," Bro said.

"Thank you very much," Eddy replied smugly. "You weren't half bad yourself."

Bro chuckled and pulled his jacket up. "Well… I don't see any reason to hang around longer. You kids have a nice Halloween."

"Thanks for helping out, Bro," Ed said.

"My pleasure, you crazy animal." With that, Eddy's brother climbed into his SUV and rode off into the night.

Eddy slapped Ed on the arm. "So I guess the only thing left is-"

"YOU FILTHY, DISGUSTING MEAT BAGS!"

The four shouted when a black ghost suddenly materialized in front of them. Without hesitation, it flew into Ed's chest. Ed screamed and stumbled around from the pain as Payton and Shizhe'e's spirits clashed within him, pain that tripled halfway through, as if a third spirit had joined the battle.

Then, just as suddenly as it had come, it stopped. Ed felt relief fill up in his chest. The fight with Shizhe'e's was now officially over.

Calmed down, Ed took a deep breath. To him, Edd and Mutt, it seemed to be nothing more than a simple exhale. Eddy, on the other hand… he saw the smiling spirits of Payton and Audrey Verra emerge from Ed's mouth. Once free, they each grabbed Eddy's shoulder and spoke through him for the others to hear.

"You all have done well," Audrey said. "Thank you for protecting our home."

"You're welcome," Edd responded.

"You are a brave, strong young man, Ed," Payton said. "I hope you can forgive me for the terrors you have faced in these past days."

"It's okay," Ed replied. "Thanks for keeping my friends and sister safe."

"And thank you for cooperating with me. You have helped me accomplish what I had once failed to do."

"We bid you farewell," Audrey whispered. "And have a good All Hallow's Eve."

When they let go, Eddy said, "See ya around," as his ancestors disappeared into the night.

After a short pause, Ed wrapped his friends in a tight hug. "I love you guys."

"Right back at ya, Ed," Eddy wheezed.

"What say we get the other guys home?" Mutt suggested. "We've got a lot of explaining to do."

"I think that's the least of our worries," Edd chuckled.

With that whole ordeal behind them, the Eds and Mutt went to console the rest of the kids. With his head held high, Ed prepared himself to carry his little sister back to her repaired room.

* * *

Ed stared at himself in his bathroom mirror. Why did he feel so empty? Everyone, Eddy especially, had returned home anticipating a good night's sleep, and Ed even felt a strong happiness as he and Sarah embraced each other before she went to bed. But now, as the midnight hour approached and Halloween started to draw to a close, Ed felt far from satisfied.

He knew he should be glad. He was free again. Payton had left his body, the demons were defeated and everyone in the cul-de-sac was safe. Happy ending, right? Nonetheless, Ed didn't feel like he had gained anything. In fact, he felt defeated.

Maybe it was just exhaustion. Maybe it was disappointment that the Halloween party they had planned for so long was cancelled. But that display Ed was in the middle of was _awesome._ Ed should've felt privileged to be, in a sense, a hero. But he just _didn't._

He sighed and splashed some water on his face. He wasn't thinking straight.

In fact, it felt like he wasn't even thinking for himself.

Oh well. Hopefully tomorrow would bring some familiarity. Ready to put this week away, Ed walked over to his bed, flopped down and pulled the crusty blankets over him, his dreary eyes slipping shut.

_Those creeps had it coming,_ he told himself. _You did everything you had to do. You showed them. You made your mark. No one messes with my town._

The clock struck midnight.

Ed's eyes shot open, blazing a terrible red, and a wide, sharp grin spread across his face.

"Peach Creek is _my_ town."

**THE END**


End file.
